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30 Jun 2005 : Column 1665W—continued
Child Poverty
14. Mr. Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made towards the target of eradicating child poverty within a generation; and what further action he intends to take in furtherance of meeting this target. [8155]
Dawn Primarolo: Child poverty more than doubled between 1979 and 1997, and was higher in the UK than anywhere else in the EU.
This Government's policy is that every child should have the opportunity to fulfil its potential. We have already lifted more than half a million children out of relative poverty, and are broadly on track to eradicate child poverty by reducing child poverty by a quarter in a quarter of the time.
Our strategy was set out in the Child Poverty Review last summer. We intend to go further by:
and by investing in our children's future so that by 2007–08 total funding for schools will be 60 per cent. higher than in 1996–97.
Debt Relief
15. Ms Angela C. Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his proposals for debt relief at the G8 summit. [8156]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Last month G7 finance ministers agreed a detailed plan to match 100 per cent. bilateral debt write off with 100 per cent. multilateral debt cancellation for the 38 heavily indebted poor countries.
This covers debts owed to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and African Development fund of some $55 billion. 18 countries will have their debts cancelled immediately, worth around $40 billion once the plan is agreed by IMF and World Bank boards.
21. Mrs. Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress is being made towards 100 per cent. multilateral debt relief. [8162]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Last month G7 Finance Ministers agreed a detailed plan to match 100 per cent. bilateral debt write off with 100 per cent. multilateral debt cancellation for the 38 heavily indebted poor countries.
This covers debts owed to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and African Development fund of some 55 billion dollars. 18 countries will have their debts cancelled immediately, worth around 40billion dollars once the plan is agreed by IMF and World Bank boards.
Borrowing Forecast
16. Mark Pritchard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes he expects in the level of Government net borrowing in the next five years. [8157]
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Mr. Des Browne: Budget projections show that net borrowing is expected to fall to a prudent level of 1.5 per cent. of GDP by 2009–10.
Shared Appreciation Mortgages
17. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on shared appreciation mortgages. [8158]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government understand the concerns of people who purchased shared appreciation mortgages in the mid 1990s. However, to date no evidence of mis-selling has been found by the Financial Ombudsman Service.
G8 (Economic Objectives)
19. Mr. Simon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his economic objectives for the Gleneagles summit. [8160]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: At their meeting on 10–11 June chaired by the Chancellor, Finance Ministers prepared the economic and financial aspects of the G8 summit. They agreed: that vigorous action was required by each member country to support a smooth adjustment to more balanced growth; a wide-ranging set of actions to improve the operation of the oil market to manage high and volatile prices; and a comprehensive package of measures on debt relief, aid and development. All these agreements will be reflected in discussions at Gleneagles.
Foreign Currency Reserves
20. Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the value of the foreign currency reserves of the UK. [8161]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Details of the UK Official Holdings of International Reserves are released monthly and are available from the Treasury website. The latest figures for the end of May, were gross reserves of $47,718 million, equivalent to £26,183 million when converted using the (4 pm) closing market rate of £1=$1.8225 on 31 May.
National Insurance
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was raised from national insurance contributions in 2004–05. [8153]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: As set out in the Budget, national insurance contribution receipts for 2005–05 are forecasted to be £77.9 billion.
Stamp Duty
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer How much tax was raised from stamp duty in the (a) 1997–98 and (b) 2004–05 financial years. [8159]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
Stamp duty on property transactions raised £1.5 billion in 1997–98, and stamp duty land tax, which replaced stamp duty in 2003, raised £6.3 billion in 2004–05.
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Stamp duty on transactions in the shares of UK incorporated companies raised £1.96 billion in 1997–98. The figure for the 2004–05 financial year will be published in September.
Sustainable Development
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with other Departments on sustainable development. [8149]
John Healey: I regularly meet DEFRA and other Ministers to discuss a range of issues including sustainable development. HM Treasury is also actively involved in discussions on this important issue.
HOME OFFICE
Cherie Blair (Security Arrangements)
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what arrangements were made to ensure the safety of the Prime Minister's wife when she visited the US in June; and what the costs were; [7536]
(2) what security arrangements have been put in place for the Prime Minister's wife's visit to the Starhill Boutique complex in Kuala Lumpur on 31 July; and what the estimated costs are. [7545]
Mr. Charles Clarke: We seek to ensure the most effective and efficient protective security arrangements for public figures in the light of the changing threat from terrorism and other continuing risks. It is not our policy to comment on the details or costs of protective security arrangements for any individual, as to do so could compromise his or her security.
Civil Servants
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in his Department in 2004–05. [4545]
Mr. Charles Clarke: In pre-Budget report 2004, the Chancellor reported Office for Government Commerce (OGC) value for money gains in central civil Government procurement for 2003–04 of £2 billion. OGC value for money procurement gains for 2004–05 are being calculated and will be published in the 2005 Treasury autumn performance report.
In Budget 2005, the Chancellor announced a headcount reduction of 12,500 posts by the end of 2004–05, towards the Government's target of a gross reduction of 84,000 civil service and administrative posts by 2008. My Department's performance was reported in the 2005 Home Office annual report (Cm6528); the size of the Department's headquarters was reduced by 876 full time equivalent posts.
Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the letter dated 10 May 2005 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Fanny Garvey. [7929]
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Mr. Charles Clarke: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 28 June.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the letter dated 10 May 2005 from the right hon. member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms. Zeinab Abdulrahman al-Hashmi. [7930]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 9 June.
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